indigo_angels

By the time that Face had come downstairs dressed in his jeans and a long sleeved navy t-shirt he seemed a bit brighter. But then, Piper reasoned as they walked along the sidewalk to the bar, that was what Face had always been good at, hiding himself behind a wall of illusion, letting people think they saw the real him when in fact all they saw was an act.

“What did Ellie say?” Face asked as they crossed the road.

“Oh, she was fine,” Piper reassured him, “she says ‘Hi’ by the way and to remind you that you have never been to our new house for a visit yet.”

Face laughed, “How would I fit in with all the damn hamsters?”

Piper shook his head in amusement. The phone call with Ellie had started off very badly indeed, she’d had a rough afternoon with the babies, and then Lottie had been playing up with her food, refusing to eat unless Piper was there. She’d been less than amused when he said he was staying overnight, even the fact that he’d already lined his mom up as help hadn’t really placated her. It was only when he’d mentioned how down Face was, how he didn’t want to leave him here on his own overnight that Ellie had, annoyingly and rather predictably, melted.

Her snippy tone of voice had instantly disappeared, replaced instead by one of utmost concern and care for Face. Piper had answered all her questions calmly and accurately, but inside he was just so relieved that both he and Face had had a drink so that neither of them were able to take her up on the suggestion that they drive back to Jacksonville straight away and then Ellie could talk to Face, sort everything out for him. He wasn’t going to tell Face that though.

They took seats by the window, the outside eating area empty due to the wind that was picking up more as the night drew on and ordered more beer and steaks. Piper kept the conversation deliberately light, he told funny baby stories, including the one where one of the triplets, obviously he wasn’t sure which one, had peed in his eye while he was changing his nappy, then funny hospital stories, Face’s favourite by far the child who had managed to lock themselves in the room where the tannoy announcer usually sat and spent an hour making personal comments about all the staff that had annoyed him during his extended stay in the hospital.

Then it was Face’s turn. Living with Murdock produced tonnes of material for funny stories and by the time they’d finished eating, Piper was holding his ribs and laughing so much he was crying, desperate for Face to introduce him to the pilot.

Face stretched back in his seat feeling better for a good meal and some light conversation. He looked at his watch, “It’s getting late,” he told Piper, “shall we head back?”

“Sure,” Piper agreed folding up his napkin and putting it on his plate, “Did I see an Xbox back at the house? You want me to kick your ass on Halo again?”

Face laughed, “You wish, buddy! Murdock’s been training me - I rock!”

Piper returned the smile, so glad to see Face happy again, even if it was only for a few hours.

“But first,” Face told him pushing his chair back, “I need to take a leak, back in a few.”

_______________________

It was only five minutes later, as Face tried to persuade the hot air blower to come on so he could dry his hands, that the whole evening turned upside down. One second Face was listening to the polite murmur of conversation outside, the sound of the wind as it blew through the trees, the distant surf pounding up the beach, and the next he only heard gun shots, screaming, panic.

His first thought was to get out there, see what the fuck was going on, but then he realised he wasn’t armed, was no doubt outnumbered, could hear the yells of ‘Get on the floor, hands on your heads!’, ‘Touch that phone and I’ll blow your fucking head off!’ and instantly made his decision.

He darted into a cubicle, leaving the door open behind him as he climbed up onto the cistern and lifted one of the ceiling tiles up and out of the way. In a flash, he pulled himself up into the roof space, keeping to the joists to avoid falling through the flimsy tiles, and managed to tuck his legs out of the way and slide the tile back into place just as the door burst open and a gunman came in, obviously checking for stragglers.

Face crouched in the roof space, hardly daring to breathe as he watched the gunman through a crack in the ceiling tile. He was dressed all in black, black balaclava covering his face, only his eyes staring out through the purpose built holes. Satisfied that the toilets were empty, the man withdrew, crashing out into the corridor and Face could hear his footsteps as they retreated back into the main area of the bar.

Pushing out a long, deep breath, Face forced himself into that calm state he needed to take a shot on a job; there was no shot to be taken here, but he needed that empty mind, that stillness, to be able to sort out what had to be done. He couldn’t see anything anymore but he could hear, and he started sifting through all the facts he had, noting what he knew, what he didn’t, exactly as Hannibal would have done.

From what he could hear, there seemed to be three different voices, all men, all armed and masked he had to presume, all dressed in black. Why they were here he still didn’t know, but he had heard them shouting for all the diners in the bar to get into the middle and get on the floor. There had definitely been shots and screaming, Face could hear the sounds of barely suppressed sobbing now, and wondered if that meant that someone had been shot. He needed to get closer; he needed to find out for definite what was going on. He couldn’t even think about Piper yet.

Leaning forward, Face tested the strength of the ceiling brackets. If he could shift forward through the crawl space he could get right on top of the gunmen, see exactly what was going on. But as he leaned forward, the tiles creaked and bowed under his weight and he knew they wouldn’t hold him. Reluctantly, he prised the tile back out of the ceiling and slipped down into the washroom. He crept to the door and put his ear against it, his hand feeling the lack of a weapon of any kind, and listened carefully.

There were voices, muffled and angry sounding, but not anywhere near him, so with a deep breath he cracked the door open and peered out into the corridor, it was clear. He took a deep breath then slipped out, his trainers silent on the tiled floor and tentatively approached the corner where he knew he would have a clear view of the bar area. Flattening himself against the wall he leaned forward as far as he dared and took a good look.

To his right was the kitchen, open plan and overlooking the main customer area. It was deserted now, a gas ring burning all to itself, food and dishes spread across the floor. To the left of centre was the dining area, now with all the tables and chairs pushed back into the corner and the few remaining customers and staff herded into the very middle. Face’s stomach clenched as he saw the slumped figure laid in a rapidly spreading pool of dark red blood, brown eyes open and staring out at nothing. He recognised him instantly; he’d been sat at the next table, a young guy, maybe early thirties who was out with a woman. Hearing the sobbing, Face’s eyes flicked to its source and saw the same young brunette, crying piteously into the arms of an older woman, he felt his anger stir within him.

The three gunmen were stood with their backs to him, facing the hostages and the unlucky victim. They seemed to be arguing about something and Face took a risk, scuttling across the head of the corridor and into the kitchen area, creeping forward until he was right behind them, only the service counter separating them.

“ – well, I don't see what the fuck difference that makes anyway! Not since you shot that guy!”

“I had to! We are supposed to be hiding out here! If he’d got out that door he’d have gone straight to the cops!”

Face pushed himself closer and managed to see the huddled men through the gap between the counter and the ice cream fridge.

“Hiding you fuck wit! But since the whole fucking street heard your shots it’s only a matter of time until the cops show up here!”

“Enough!” This was the third voice, and Face could see it belonged to the biggest man, “The pair of you are lucky I don’t just put a bullet through your stupid heads right now! This was supposed to be a simple money job; as soon as you idiots killed those cops at the junction you got half the state on our tails!”

Silence fell and Face could feel his heart pounding against his ribs, if these guys had killed cops then they would be desperate, nothing else to lose now, very, very dangerous...

“We are here to hide until the heat dies away! Nothing more! We keep quiet, keep our heads down, when it goes quiet, then we take one of these bozo’s cars and get the hell out, right? That’s all we do, keep this lot quiet and let the cops assume that we have left the area.”

“But what if the cops know we haven’t left the area?” the first guy hissed.

“They don’t know anything for sure, but they’ll presume we’re long gone. Who would be stupid enough to stay in a dead end joint like this?”

Two of the men laughed but the third wasn’t convinced. “But what if they do find us? What if they find that woman’s body, know we took her car, trace it here?”

All semblance of laughter instantly disappeared, “Well, we have plenty of hostages, we start shooting one by one until the cops decide to let us through. I’m not going back to prison for anything – not a damn thing! You got that?” The big guy held the eyes of the man who had queried him and waited until he nodded before he continued, “Now, get your ass out of that back door and see what’s out there then barricade it all up, I don't want any surprises, right?” The first guy nodded and moved back down the corridor out of Face’s view while the others separated, going one either side of the hostages, their automatic weapons trained on their huddled captives at all times.

Once the men had moved away, Face had his first glimpse of Piper. He looked untouched, but grey and worried, the fact that he hadn’t even tried to help the poor guy who’d been shot told Face that it must have been an instantaneous kill. One of the gunmen went and stood right next to him and Face stiffened, not liking how close Piper was to the gun’s muzzle.

Blue eyes flashing over the hostages, counting them, looking at the guns, checking out the distance to the door, noticing obstacles and cover, Face began to plan, wondering if Piper could take down that second guy if Face could only get to the first. If they struck soon while the third gunman was out the back then maybe they would be able to overpower them both, maybe the third guy would make a run for it then, possibly some of the other hostages might join in...

But just as these thoughts were starting to crystallise in his head, blue lights suddenly started flashing on the walls of the room and a voice, distorted by a loud hailer, sounded in the darkness.

“Leroy Bennett. Jude Pasco. Lawrence Cobb. This is Tybee Police Department. You are surrounded by armed officers. Put down your weapons and come out with your hands on your heads!”

There was a second of stunned silence before the big guy, the guy nearest Piper, jumped into action. “Pasco!” he yelled “Get that back door sealed, NOW! Bennett, cover these morons!” Then he leaned forward and grabbed the woman next to Piper on the floor by her hair, dragging her to her feet and standing so they were clearly visible through the open window. “Back off!!!” he screamed, and Face could see two or three officers as they crouched in the outdoor eating area, guns at the ready and his heart sank, they didn’t look like a SWAT team to him...

“Back off!!” Cobb shouted again, “Or I’ll shoot her! You know I will!”

Face’s heart was pounding as he quickly reassessed his plan. The third guy, Pasco, was still out the back, so that just left Cobb and Bennett. Bennett looked nervous, training his gun backwards and forwards over the hostages as they cowered before him, more of them crying now, the woman in Cobb’s arms whimpering.

“Back off!!!” Cobb sounded frantic and Face swore under his breath, knowing he had to make his move NOW, in less than ideal circumstances. But just as he tensed to make the dash across the room towards Bennett’s gun, there was an ear splitting bang and he stared in horror as Cobb threw the lifeless, blood-soaked woman away from him and grabbed Piper, hauling him up as a shield in front of him and yelling at the police again.

“I told you! I fucking told you!!! Now back off or I’ll do it again! Ten seconds!!! Nine... eight... seven...”

“Jesus Christ!” Face muttered under his breath and quickly crossed the kitchen, keeping down behind the counter, adrenalin firing through his veins, knowing he had to do this now, on his own, that this guy was a psycho, wasn’t waiting... Piper didn't have the time for him to wait.

“Good!” Cobb shouted and just as Face got to the end of the counter he paused and risked postponing his assault to sneak a look at what was happening.

The police had fallen back, no doubt to wait for specially trained officers now, and Cobb had halted his countdown. Piper was on his knees in front of the gunman who was crouched behind him, gun jammed into his neck, obviously watching as the police fell back. Face ran his eyes over his friend as was relieved with what he saw. No one ever wanted to be in a position like this, but Piper had faced death before, he was pale, but looked reasonably calm, and Face knew he would hold it together.

Face ducked back down into the kitchen and let out a long silent breath; without Piper to back him up he needed a new plan. He wouldn’t be able to count on any of the other hostages, after watching two cold blooded murders now, half of them were sobbing and most of the others looked like they were in shock. Pasco was still nowhere to be seen, and Face knew that that was where his only chance lay, in getting the one man on his own.

Creeping back down the corridor, Face peered into the stock room at the back to find Pasco feverishly piling boxes and crates up against the reinforced steel door. He must have heard the shooting from the front and was in a panic, probably expecting the police to come barging in the back door at any second. Face knew they wouldn’t though. They already had the death of one hostage on their hands, they would not risk another.

Moving quickly and decisively, Face was behind Pasco in two silent steps with a well timed elbow to the back of the neck, the gunman was unconscious on the floor. Moving quickly, Face stripped his weapons, mask and black jumper off before binding and gagging him and shoving him down the gap between the wall and the freezer. Next he stripped off his own top and replaced it with the black jumper, pulling the balaclava on over his head, making sure none of his errant curls would slip out of the back and give him away, before jamming the automatic pistol into the belt of his jeans and pulling his mobile phone out.

“Yes,” he hissed into the mouth piece, “put me through to the guy who is in charge on the ground at that hostage situation on Tybee Island.” He rolled his eyes at the standard answer he was given and moved to the other side of the store room so he could see the entire corridor. “Don’t give me that shit! I know there is a hostage situation because I am in the fucking middle of it! Now put me on to whoever is in charge right fucking now!”

There was a minute’s wait before a voice snapped onto the line, “This is Abe Frank, Chief of Tybee Island Police. Who am I talking to?”

“My name is First Lieutenant Templeton Peck, United States Army, 75^th Ranger Regiment. I was a patron in the bar over on Tybee Island tonight when it was taken over by three armed men. I am currently in the store room at the back of the bar having over powered and incapacitated the hostile called Pasco. He was armed with a Glock 17 which is now in my possession. There are fourteen live hostages in the main eating area of the bar, with two gunmen. The gunmen both have semi-automatic pistols, the guy near the door, a Berretta, the guy at the back of the room another Glock. Two hostages have already been killed and if they see you coming in again, then they will not hesitate to kill another. Do you understand that?” Face paused for breath as he flicked cautious eyes back down the corridor to the bar.

There was a pause at the other end of the line before the voice said, “Are you one of the gunmen?”

Face rolled his eyes again and hissed frustratedly through his teeth. “No! I’m not a fucking gunman! Didn’t you listen to what I just said?”

“I listened loud and clear sonny, and I don't like that attitude you are taking with me. Now, if you’re not a gunman then why do you have a gun?”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me...” Face kicked the wall in frustration. “Because I have taken it off the gun man I overpowered! I just told you that!”

There was another pause, “You expect me to believe that you single handedly overpowered a man armed with a semi-automatic pistol? Who are you, one of the X-Men?”

Face didn’t have time for this. “No you dick head,” he hissed into the phone, “I am an Army Ranger like I said, and I do this shit for a living! Now, are you gonna start taking me seriously or is there someone with a bit of sense I can talk to?”

“I’m afraid you aint gonna be talking to anyone, sonny, how do we know you are who you say you are?”

Face took a huge deep breath and forced himself to be calm; whoever this dickhead was, he really needed believe what Face was saying here, he needed to make sure those cops didn’t come any closer to the bar.

“Right,” he breathed, “you need to get in touch with General Russell Morrison up at Fort Benning, and he will vouch for me. But I am an Army Ranger, and I am telling you that if your men come any closer to this bar then those idiots will start shooting again. Do you want any more blood on your hands?”

There was another pause, and the sounds of the phone being passed about, Face frowned and was about to just give up and disconnect when a different voice came on the line, “Lt. Peck?”

He glanced nervously back up the corridor, “Yes?”

“Captain Marc Schmidt here, I am the forward officer for the Crisis Negotiation Team out of Atlanta.”

“Thank Christ for that...” Face breathed, and he heard Captain Schmidt laugh.

“I’ve been listening on speaker, and your intel is going to be crucial in getting this thing finished without any more innocent loss of life.”

“You need to keep those officers back...”

“I know, I read you and don't worry, no one will be moving until the SWAT team get here.”

Face nodded to himself and felt his pulse drop a notch, “Okay, so what do you want from me?”

“Nothing,” Face’s pulse started to race once more, “we appreciate everything you have done so far, but this is not a military matter, you need to sit tight and wait for the specialists.”

Face tried not to let the word ‘specialist’ irritate him too much, “Listen Captain...”

“Lieutenant,” Schmidt cut across him, “find somewhere to hide, keep your head down and wait until we come and get you out. Charging around in there with two loonies and a gun of you own is only going to get people killed.”

Face felt the phone digging into his hand from where he was holding it so tightly.

“Can you do that for me, Peck? Find somewhere out of the way and keep your head down?”

It was hard for Face to answer as his teeth were grinding together so tightly but somehow he managed. “Yes, of course.”

“Good. Well thanks a lot for your help. Team should be here from Atlanta in about two hours, meanwhile I need to make contact with their leader. Thanks again.” And then Face was left holding the phone, silently fuming in the dark storeroom.

He stood still for all of one second before his plan was fully formed in his head. Schmidt wanted Face to keep out of the way? He knew exactly how he could do just that very thing...

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